Salvation & Jesus

Hey there, peeps.
Woke up this morning to the news of my aunt collapsing from her chair.
Sadly, she passed away on the way to the hospital.
We kinda expected this to happen eventually because her condition was already dire.
She passed away from heart failure.
I'm actually typing this right now at the wake ceremony.
In a way, I'm thank God that she's finally liberated from her misery and suffering.
We pray that God have mercy on her soul and grant her eternal rest in heaven.

Let me quote a portion of verse from the Bible.
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
She said to him, "Yes Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world." (John 11:17, 20-27)

I shall now quote the sinner's prayer according to the Christian faith.
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness. Most merciful God, we confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. For the sake of your son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of Your holy name. Amen."
"In the mercy of Almighty God, Jesus Christ has given his life for us, and for His sake, God forgives us all our sins. To all who believe in Jesus Christ, He gives the authority to become children of God, and bestows on them the Holy Spirit. Amen."

The congregation also sang this lovely song entitled 'Sweet By and By'.
The lyrics of this song is simply beautiful.
I'll quote the lyrics below:

There's a land, that is fairer than day;
And by faith we can see it afar;
For the Father waits over the way;
To prepare us for a dwelling place there;
In the sweet by and by;
We shall meet again on that beautiful shore one day;
In the sweet by and by.

We shall sing on that beautiful shore;
The melodious songs of the blessed;
And our spirits shall sorrow no more;
Not a sigh for the blessing of rest;
In the sweet by and by;
We shall meet again on that beautiful shore one day;
In the sweet by and by.

To our bountiful Father above;
We will offer the tribute of praise;
For the glorious gift of His love;
And the blessings that hallow our days;
In the sweet by and by;
We shall meet again on that beautiful shore one day;
In the sweet by and by.

And of course, we sang another wonderful and touching hymn entitled 'Amazing Grace'.
I'm sure alot of us are familiar with this hymn.
I almost burst into tears when we sang it as the lyrics really mean alot to a person who believes in Jesus.
One has to experience God's goodness to really comprehend the gravity of the lyrics in this hymn.
Here're the lyrics:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound;
That saved a wretch like me;
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear;
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear;
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares;
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far;
And grace will lead me home.

When we've been there ten thousand years;
Bright shining as the sun;
We've no less days to sing God's praise;
Than when we first begun. Amen.

I'm thankful to God that because through my dad, nearly everyone in my extended family came to know and eventually accept the Lord Jesus as their personal lord and saviour.
Thank Jesus that they all chose to believe in Jesus before they died as their salvation is now at hand. Not by merits, as no one in the whole world deserves to go to heaven as we are all sinners. Only by God's grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross, can we freely come back to Him.
Salvation is purely by God's grace, no human merit or whatever extend of charitable deeds could earn our souls salvation.
Grace is therefore defined as the mercy and undeserved favour of God for us. He died in our place on the cross, shed His precious blood on the cross so that we may have the forgiveness of sins and obtain salvation freely.
After both my paternal grandparents died, my dad received a vision in which he saw both of them running joyfully and happily in a beautiful field in heaven and they were both in their youths again!
Praise the Lord for giving them a golden opportunity to receive salvation while they were still alive!

What I learnt from the passing of my aunt is that life's too short like a fleeting moment of a burning candle.
Therefore, we should live our lives built on the foundation of both fearing and loving our Lord Jesus.
I pray that the Lord would use me as His vessel and instrument to reach out to my non-christian friends so they can join me in heaven next time.
I simply cannot bear the picture of the people whom are important to me and whom I care about choosing to reject God and subsequently unable to enter into heaven with me next time.
The picture of that happening makes me feel so sad and grieved.
But in the end, everyone has to make his/her own choice whether to accept or reject God.
It's after all all about freewill ever since the beginning of time.
Even Satan had freewill before he chose to rebel against God.
Did you know that Satan was once an angel of light known as Lucifer?
He was one of the most beautiful beings created but he let his pride got the better of him and eventually chose to rebel against God.
However, his efforts failed miserably and he was cast out of paradise and subsequently became the father of all evil.
It's all about freewill in the end.
Don't let your choice on your faith be influenced by family and friends. Instead, you yourself have to decide whether you choose to accept Jesus or not.
I've made my own personal decision to accept Jesus without being influenced by anyone. It's by my own freewill and I have not looked back since.

In conclusion, I hope that the Lord will speak in a personal manner to each and everyone of you guys like He did to me.
Salvation is only obtainable through Jesus who died for our sins on the cross.
As Jesus said : "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)